Burnt Offerings

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Burnt Offerings

#1 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jul 12, 2016 9:39 am

Image

When college lecturer Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed, The Brood, The Devils) and his family rent a remote country mansion at a bargain price, they believe they’re in for an uneventful summer. Little do they realise that they’ve just moved into a veritable house of horrors! As the malevolent force that dwells within its walls exerts its dark influence on the minds of its new inhabitants, and the sinister occurrences begin to mount up, it grows increasingly clear that this is a holiday they’ll never forget... provided any of them live to tell of it.

Also starring Karen Black (The Day of the Locust) and Bette Davis (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?), Burnt Offerings provides a unique and chilling portrait of a modern family in meltdown. Presented in high definition for the first time in the UK, there has never been a better time to revisit – or discover for the first time – this unforgettable slice of American Gothic.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
Acting His Face, an interview with actor Anthony James
Blood Ties, an interview with actor Lee Montgomery
From the Ashes, an interview with screenwriter William F. Nolan
Portraits of Fear, an animated gallery of promotional materials and behind-the-scenes stills
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love

First pressing only: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Kat Ellinger

DETAILS:
RRP: £19.99 £15.99
Region: B / 2
Rating: TBC
Duration: 116 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Mono
Colour
Discs: 2

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barryconvex
billy..biff..scooter....tommy
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 10:08 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Burnt Offerings

#2 Post by barryconvex » Wed Sep 07, 2016 9:16 pm

This was one of the first 70s horror movies i ever saw. When i was a little kid it played during a Yankees rain delay on WPIX in New York, i remember, and even in broad daylight it scared the hell out of me. I don't know why i can still recall minutiae from this film very vividly while i can't remember a single frame from certain movies i watched two weeks ago.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Burnt Offerings

#3 Post by L.A. » Sun Oct 02, 2016 11:34 am


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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Burnt Offerings

#4 Post by zedz » Fri Aug 25, 2017 3:51 pm

This film kind of lurches from scene to scene (which doesn't help the mood of almost imperceptible transformation it's trying to achieve), but it's an effective and unusual haunted house film with some memorable set pieces.
SpoilerShow
The scene in the swimming pool - which could have just been ridiculous because it's such an obviously cheap set piece - works really well because it starts out as bullish macho hijinks and simply sustains that vibe, while gradually increasing its intensity, beyond any reasonable bounds. It also works because Oliver Reed strikes me as just the kind of macho arsehole to engage in that kind of thing.
The creepiest image in the film is entirely gratuitous, and doesn't make much sense plot-wise, unless we've got two completely unrelated hauntings invading one another's space, and while I was unsurprised to learn from the commentary that it had nothing to do with the source novel, I was a little shocked to hear that it was autobiographical!

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